Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important issue. I will support the Bill's progress on Second Stage today. Over recent months the cost-of-living, energy and housing crises have meant that people are making choices between paying their rent, paying energy bills or having money to put food on the table. People are being sacrificed and to add to their worries, there was a significant jump in the number of landlords selling up. There was a substantial increase in the number of notices to quit in the private rental sector in the past year. It increased by 47% between the first and second quarter of 2022, from 1,132 to 1,666. Tenants are in constant dread and fear of eviction where the landlords have significant power over their lives.

The RTB operates a register of private tenancies, as well as resolving disputes between landlords and tenants. This Bill is required due to the ongoing acute supply constraints in the residential rental sector and the increasing number of people presenting as homeless over the winter. I welcome the fact that the Government wants to reduce the burden on homelessness services and the pressure on tenants within the residential tenancy market. This temporary measure will protect renters who face homelessness by deferring any no-fault tenancy termination from taking place this winter until after 31 March 2023. Where people are in financial difficulties as a result of the cost-of-living and energy crises, they should be protected if they fall into arrears.

One young mother from my constituency contacted me because she is in fear of imminent eviction. She was recently given notice to vacate in the new year. Although she has been searching, she cannot locate an alternative property, with hundreds vying for the same properties in Louth. This extension is very welcome to her as she needs time to locate a new place to live for her and her family of four. Thankfully, most renters will be protected under the new moratorium, including students. However, it must be noted, rightly so, that it will still be possible to serve a notice of termination during the winter period and this protection will not extend to a tenant who chooses not to pay his or her rent or who is in breach of other tenancy obligations. This is fair and offers the landlord protection also.

While this emergency Bill is necessary and provides assistance in the short term, the long-term answers to the housing and accommodation challenges remain. The Government pitches the Housing for All plan as the proposal to alleviate the housing crisis. It promises an increasing supply of new housing, with an average of at least 30,000 new units per year. The promise of social and affordable homes for purchase or rent aims to eliminate homelessness and to address waiting lists, yet homelessness is at a record level, additional people are queuing down the street for a room, people are being priced out of buying a home and nearly half of people's wages are being paid in rent. The homelessness figure will continue to grow after the eviction ban has concluded unless the core problem of the lack of social and affordable homes is addressed.

Last week, the Union of Students in Ireland co-ordinated a students' walk-out in protest at the lack of accommodation for those attending further education. The Government must listen to these students. The market has failed to deliver accommodation for those renting and seeking to attend college, with many choosing to stay in hostels or to sleep in cars or even in tents rather than face a long commute each day. Because Louth is located along the commuter belt, my office has received numerous calls from students from across Ireland in search of accommodation. I will not say the Government has done nothing but it must do more.

The housing crisis is felt in every part of the country. In my constituency of Louth, we have a severe housing shortage and spiralling rents. The latest figures from daft.ieshow that the cost of renting in County Louth has risen by 8% in the past year. The average rent is now at €1,420. Letting agencies on the ground have painted a devastating picture of the current rental market with a shortage of supply that has hit all age groups and walks of life. In Dundalk and Drogheda, the rental crisis is catastrophic as thousands of people are vying for only a handful of homes. We must do whatever we can to keep families in their homes as a matter of urgency this winter. I fundamentally agree with the principle of a person having access to housing and, as such, I agree with the passing of this Bill.

The number of people being made homeless is unreal. Not a day passes without someone coming into my constituency office who is in that situation. It could be due to a husband and wife separating or someone in the home who has an addiction and their parents cannot put up with them any more. I commend the homelessness section in Louth County Council. We seem to have a hotline to it. We ring it nearly every day and, in fairness to them, its staff do their best. Many of the homeless people who come into my office have an addiction problem. The emergency accommodation is a good place to go but most of them refuse to go there because they maintain there are drugs available in them. This is something we must examine, given the amount of money the Government is spending on emergency accommodation. If there is a problem with drugs in them, then we will have to examine it seriously.

A young girl came to see me recently who has a problem with alcohol. She is only 18 years of age. Her parents threw her out. I rang the parents and they did not want to do anything with her. I contacted my local homeless centre and they told me the girl has a serious drink problem and she was in the Simon Community hostel but they threw her out because was drinking again. She came back to see me. Where does this young girl go from here? Nobody seems to want to know anything about this young girl - neither the HSE nor the mental health services. She is only 18 years of age. She slept for three nights on top of a new Halliday Mills apartment block on Quay Street in Dundalk. She slept at the top of the building because she felt safe there at night time. I keep ringing and asking how come this young girl is forced to sleep rough. The system does not work right. If we ring the psychiatric unit in Crosslanes in Drogheda, we are told a person must be referred by a doctor or consultant. If you go to the doctor, the doctor will give a few sleeping tablets. This young girl is caught in the middle. She feels as though nobody wants her. My main concern at the moment is what is going to happen to her. She keeps calling to the office and we keep ringing up on her behalf but I am afraid that some day this wee girl will not come in and she will be found dead. The system is failing drastically. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Minister for Health should be working together to help the likes of this young girl. I will contact Louth County Council tomorrow and let them know that I spoke to the Minister today. There is no way that society should be like that. I apologise as I did not realise I had used up so much time.

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